The markets blasted off to new highs today as tax reform news sent the bulls in for more risk. The Dow 30 was higher by 163, the S&P 500 added 12, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 23. Next week earnings season continues which will be the driving focus. Monday offers no real significant economic news.
General Electric (NYSE: GE) shares opened lower today after reporting a sizable earnings miss as well as cutting its forecast for the year. The earnings report showed a gain of 29 cents on revenue of $33.47 billion. Analysts estimates were for earnings of 50 cents a share and sales of $32.54 billion. Chief Executive John Flannery commented that "results for the latest quarter were unacceptable and that the company needs to make some major changes with urgency and a depth of purpose." The CEO also commented that it would look to move on from around $20 billion worth of assets in the next 1 to 2 years. Shares were lower on the open but the bulls came in strong, pushing shares into the green by the close.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) shares were slightly lower today as yet another anlalyst has turned negative on the restaurant chain. RBC Capital lowered its price target to $330 from $400 on concern about "sales, increasing labor costs, the chain's disappointing queso launch and higher avocado prices." In a cleverly titled note to RBC clients "Worst queso scenario," the firms analyst stated, "We suspect that recent performance of Chipotle's SSS initiatives (e.g., queso) and marketing effectiveness is likely to disappoint expectations. With 3Q results, we hope to learn whether these initiatives still have potential to drive trial and frequency and what adjustments could be made to improve execution." With earnings coming up next week, its highly likely this will be a volatile name.
Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) shares popped 5.33% today on an upgrade from Citi. The analyst firm upgraded the company to a buy from hold and raised its price target on the stock to $73 a share, suggesting another 20% from these levels. Shares have been in a trading range of late, but today's move sent prices back to the high end of that range.